Vikings Compete At Penn State National

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Cleveland State cross country team competed in the Penn State National Friday morning, marking their final race before the Horizon League Championship. The Vikings finished 25th at the Penn State National out of 29 teams and 268 total competitors.

"This was a very tough race today, the level of competition was very high and I was very happy with our performances and how we ran," head coach Joe Jaketic said. "Despite the weather, I thought everyone had a well run race, including Allison who had a great 6k time even with the weather. This was a good tune-up for the league championship in two weeks and hopefully we can have two strong weeks of training before that meet."

Allison Craine paced the Vikings finishing 137th overall, covering the 6k course in a time of 24:00. Kendra Kezur and Tori Holt also recorded top-200 finishes for CSU, Kezur placing 166th in a time of 24:32 and Holt placing 195th in 25:09.

Kelly Zaleski, Katie Webb and Kari Haywood were the next Vikings to cross the finish line, Zaleski finishing 201st in a time of 25:14, Webb finishing 217th in a time of 25:36 and Haywood placing 235th in a time of 26:00. Brittany Elmlinger and Angela Kirila rounded out the field for CSU, as Elmlinger ran a time of 26:58 (255th) and Kirila ran a time of 27:06 (258th).

Next up for the Vikings will be the Horizon League Championship, which will take place on Saturday, October 29. CSU will be the host of the 2011 Horizon League Championship, with the race taking place at Squire Valleevue Farm in Gates Mills, Ohio.